Jesus is God’s Word made flesh.  A since he lives in our midst, he calls us, in effect, to know him and look into who he truly is. 

Luke seems to be a stickler for precision and details about Jesus.  For the evangelist says he is a writer who does look into facts and data with care and in detail.  And he does so since he wants those who study with him to get true and strong formation.

And he does not just tell us in a concise way, as in Lk 4, 15, that Jesus teaches in the synagogues.  He gives details, rather, about what takes place at the synagogue in Nazareth:  precise gestures, actions and reactions, words.  The details go to show that what Jesus does is crucial. They let us know that who he is, what he means to us, counts very much.  Yes, the Good News, that he is, is too crucial for us to do away with the details.

Do we take him to count so much that we do not stop to look into who he is with care?  And with precision?  Do we fix our gaze on him and do our hearts burn while he speaks to us?  Is it clear to us that he makes true, as we hear it, the Scripture he reads?

Lord Jesus, grant us the grace to always look into who you are, so that we may truly know you.  And see to it that we pay “attention to details” and not lose sight of a small yet crucial detail:  your not reading that part in Isaiah that speaks of vengeance.  We will thus grasp that you are not an avenging messiah. You are, rather, a merciful Messiah, that you serve and give up your body and shed your blood for us.  Grant, most of all, that our life be hidden in you and full of you (SV.EN I:276).  For only in this way will we get to know you truly, not setting aside details, and make up one body with you and others.

26 January 2025
3rd Sunday in O.T. (C)
Neh 8, 2-4a. 5-6. 8-10; 1 Cor 12, 12-30; Lk 1, 1-4; 4, 14-21